Florida Senate passes request for federal government to increase state National Guard size

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Senate passed a memorial Thursday requesting Congress ask the U.S. National Guard Bureau to increase the size of the Florida National Guard after its next assessment.

Sen. Tom Wright, R-Port Orange, introduced SM 226 in October 2023.

The measure gained unanimous approval by voice vote.

“We are currently allocated for 12,000 guardsmen for the state of 22 million residents, the second to last for ratio to guardsmen to population out of the 54 guard units,” Wright said on the Senate floor. The allocation of 12,000 guardsmen is based on our state’s population, and hold on to your hats that was based in 1958.”

The memorial cited a U.S. National Guard Bureau report from April 2021 on population trends on the National Guard in its argument.

“The National Guard may need to evaluate re-allocating mission sets to other geographic areas to keep
with changing demographics across the country,” the report said.

The memorial explained, as part of its reasoning for an increase, the state’s activity level during the coronavirus pandemic, and other natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. Over that period, the guard logged the same amount of work days in 18 months as it did the previous 20 years.

“We are currently underprepared for a large scale disaster. Hopefully we don’t have one. But when and where it may be, we want to be ready,” Wright said.

Wright emphasized that an increase is necessary for the “protection of Florida.”

Florida has had the first most declared state of emergencies over the last 70 years, according to Wright.

“The Florida National Guard is made up of many brave men and women who are heavily relied on and we must ensure that we have the guardsmen necessary to appropriately respond when called upon,” Wright said.

Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, filed an identical proposal, HM 1145, in January.